coisa

coisa

Dalmatian

Etymology

Probably from Vulgar Latin *eccum sīc. Compare Italian così, Istriot cussèi, Venetian cusì, Friulian cussì.

Adverb

coisa

1. so
2. as, like
3. like this/that

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Portuguese

Alternative forms

• cousa (dated)
• coysa (obsolete)

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈkoj.zɐ/ [ˈkoɪ̯.zɐ]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈkoj.zɐ/ [ˈkoɪ̯.zɐ]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈkoj.za/ [ˈkoɪ̯.za]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈkoj.zɐ/

• Rhymes: -ojzɐ
• Hyphenation: coi‧sa

Etymology 1

Alteration of cousa, from Old Portuguese cousa, fromLatin causa (“cause, reason”), in Later and Vulgar Latin meaning "thing". Doublet of causa, a learned borrowing. Compare Galician cousa, Spanish, Italian, and Catalan cosa, and French chose.

Noun

coisa f (plural coisas)

1. thing (a physical object, entity or situation)

   Aconteceu uma coisa bastante estranha ontem à noite. ― A very strange thing happened last night.

   Comprei umas coisas com o salário desse mês. ― I bought some stuff with this month’s salary.

2. thingamajig; gizmo, thingy (something whose name is unknown)

   Dá-me aquela coisa. ― Hand that thing over to me.

   Synonyms: (Brazil) troço, (Brazil) treco, (Brazil) negócio, (Brazil) bagulho, (Brazil) bagaça, (Brazil) trem, (Brazil) pira, (Portugal) cena, bang

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:coisa.

Derived terms

• coisa-feia
• coisar
• coisa-ruim
• coisas do arco-da-velha
• coisificar
• coisinha (diminutive)
• coisona (augmentative)
• que coisa

Descendants

• Kabuverdianu: kusa
• Papiamentu: kousa

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

coisa

1. inflection of coisar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative